Risk All
by FantasySci5
Summary: Book of Secrets deleted scene. Riley's not going to leave Ben, no matter what happens to himself. Riley and Ben friendship. Slight Ben Riley slash if you squint.


_Risk All_

SUMMARY: "Book of Secrets" fic. Riley's not going to leave Ben, no matter what happens to himself. Riley and Ben friendship. Deleted scene. Slight Ben Riley slash if you squint.

Disclaimer: I do not own "National Treasure", Riley or Ben, or any of the events of "Book of Secrets".

This story happens near the end, when they are trapped in the water. I didn't want to give up too much information in the summary for those who have not seen the new movie, which you should rush to do. I have already seen it twice and loved it. I am sorry if any of the lines are not exact from the movie.

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"No!" Riley braced himself against the current of rushing water, his bright blue eyes seeking out Ben's. Ben leaned against the wooden wheel, ready to sacrifice his life to let everyone else go free. Wilkinson started wading back to help push, as Abigail said her "good-bye's" to Ben. But Riley refused to think that this was the end. As Abigail moved away towards Ben's parents, Riley locked eyes with Ben.

"I won't leave you." Riley spoke clearly, raising his chin in defiance. The water was up to his chest, as he spread his arms to lean against the flow, his feet standing firm. Ben subtly shook his head at Riley, his whole attention on the younger man for a moment. He recognized the determination within the kid's eyes, and knew that Riley would not give up without a fight. He shook his head again, hoping Riley got the message. _Don't do this._

Riley heard him loud and clear in his mind, but shook his own head in reply. No way was he leaving his best friend here to die, being noble just to sacrifice his life for people who didn't want to leave him anyway. He had always looked up to Ben, never doubting any of his crazy plans to get closer to the treasure. Ben had been the first real person to actually care about him, ever since Riley's family had abandoned him one way or another. That's why he was always willing to risk his life to help Ben find his mythical treasure, since he had no family to worry over his safety on these trips, and Ben was pretty much all of his family. He didn't really consider the thought of being killed or locked up, since all he could ever think about was helping out Ben. They had known each other far longer than most people thought, way before Ben and Ian "rescued" him for the first treasure hunt. The two had shared many adventures during their college years, and their friendship still was just as strong. So Riley would be damned if he was just going to leave Ben.

Ben's eyes were pleading with Riley to see reason, wanting nothing more than to see his adopted "little brother" make it to safety. "Go." Ben whispered, aware that the water level was still rising, and Riley could barely keep his head above the water.

"No." Riley stubbornly shook his head again, a resigned glint in his glittering eyes. His wet brown hair stuck out in every direction, a few stray pieces plastered to his pale cheek. He flicked a strand out of his eyes by jerking his head, never breaking eye contact with Ben. He was starting to have to tread water, feet kicking in slow motions underneath him.

"Please..." Ben's voice cracked just a little bit, as Wilkinson started to push against the wheel. The door slowly started rising up, the rising pressure of the water escaping out in to the tunnel. Tears brimmed in Riley's eyes, or maybe it was Ben's. Neither were really sure who, but they knew one of them had to be, since they could only see each other through a haze that had nothing to do with the water.

Suddenly, the door was all of the way up, and the force of the current surprised everybody. An extra wave of water rushed towards the exit, knocking everyone down except for the two pushing. Riley's head went underwater for a moment, as he kicked and thrashed to reach the surface again. The current pushed him back violently, knocking his head against the stone he supposed was the door. And just as suddenly as the roaring rapids had appeared, silence descended as the door slammed back down, the two men pushing still on the other side.

Riley broke the surface, taking in a lung full of air. He panted, filling his lungs with much needed air, until he realized that he had gone past breathing and in to hyperventilating. Ben was still on the other side. And Riley would go wherever Ben went.

Riley saw his chance as the door started to slowly rise again, and took it. Without another thought, he dove back underwater, feeling with his hands the widening gap to get back in to the chamber. He could feel Abigail tugging at his Chucks to bring him back, but he vowed that he would not come back until Ben was beside him. He was glad he was so skinny, since the hole was barely a few feet high. He started to wiggle through, as his hooded jacket caught on a protruding rock. Struggling freely for a moment, it took a few seconds for the panic to kick in. He started wildly twisting back and forth, when he felt another hard object collide with him and hit him full in the chest. Both were thrown backwards, once again in the dimnlit corridor leading away from the chamber.

Riley slowly opened his eyes, noticing first that his arm was aching, sending little spurts of pain up his shoulder every few seconds. Groaning, he looked down at his left side, seeing blood coat the dwindling water around him. He cradled his arm, only thinking about how much it hurt at first. Then, with a gasp, he remembered Ben. He jerked his head up to look at the now sealed shut door.

"Don't worry, kid." A familiar and much loved voice rasped in his right ear. Whirling around, he felt the presence of another beside him, and at first thought it was a dream when he saw Ben leaning heavily against the wall.

Riley's eyes lit up as a slow, wide smile spread across his face as his best friend looked back at him. Overcome with joy, relief, left-over adrenaline, and a brotherly love to his hero, he closed his eyes and lunged forward, capturing Ben in a fierce hug. Ben smiled down at the top of Riley's head, patting his back affectionately. After a few moments, Ben playfully shoved Riley off as gently as he could. Riley giggled, ducking his head down almost shyly.

Ben had known that Riley had been attempting to slid back under the door when Ben had been knocked over and ran into Riley under the water. He had known that the boy would not have given up, and would have willingly risked his life to save his. Staring down fondly into Riley's over-bright eyes, Ben found his voice.

"Thanks, Riley."

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I know that was kinda short, but I thought I did the scene justice, and I hope you liked it. Watching the movie again, I saw Riley trying to go back under for Ben, and how he hadn't wanted to leave him in the first place. I hope I did the characters and their friendship justice. Please review!


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